Classrooms Without Borders Join Forces with “The Cure for Hate” to Build Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism
“I’ve taught the Holocaust with many meaningful, impactful, and emotionally compelling resources but this film is so powerful in a different way. His journey to bear witness, interspersed with his personal story is incredible.”
—June Morris, Board of Directors, National Council for the Social Studies, 2019-2022
Last fall, Classrooms Without Borders (CWB), a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, officially partnered with The Cure for Hate to bring its urgent message into schools and communities. According to CWB Founder and Executive Director Tsipy Gur, this partnership aims to “empower the next generation to stand against hate and build a more just and compassionate world.”¹
At the heart of this initiative is The Cure for Hate, the powerful new documentary by award-winning filmmaker Peter Hutchison. The film follows Tony McAleer, a former neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier, as he travels to Auschwitz-Birkenau to reckon with his past and reflect on the forces that drew him into white nationalism.
McAleer, who later cofounded Life After Hate, a nonprofit organization that helps people leave white supremacist movements behind, offers profound insights into the feelings of shame, alienation, and fear that fuel extremist movements. Along the way, he also explores connections with the social and cultural conditions that gave rise to fascism in 1930s Europe.
The Cure for Hate serves as an invaluable resource for exploring how individuals — especially young men — are drawn into and ultimately leave violent extremist movements. It warns of the dangers of unchecked antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, and other forms of hate while underscoring the transformative power of education and empathy.
At a time when authoritarian and fascist movements are accelerating in the U.S. and around the world, The Cure for Hate offers both a deeply personal testimony and a critical educational tool for examining the roots of far-right extremism, authoritarianism, and the politics of hate.
Want to bring The Cure for Hate to your school, organization, or community? The filmmakers have put together a social impact program (an overview is available here) to create a dialogue that links history to dangerous recent trends in hate crimes, intolerance and violent extremism. On one level, it’s a fresh & unique look into how young men get into, and out of, hate groups. On another, it brings the lessons of Auschwitz into the present, as living history — to remind us what can happen when hate is left unchecked. Offerings include:
- Screening of the 55-minute or 90-minute version of The Cure for Hate
- Panel discussion led by Tony McAleer, co-founder of Life After Hate and the film’s subject; and Peter Hutchison, director of the film and co-author of the curriculum (available for in-person or shorter virtual bookings).
- Facilitated lessons and workshops from The Cure for Hate curriculum
- Educator professional development on The Cure for Hate curriculum
- Host & facilitation of interfaith dialogues
- College and University screenings and panel discussions
- Community and faith-based workshops
The filmmakers have screened the film and convened conversations about belonging, compassion, and resisting polarization with diverse audiences across the country. To date they have screened the film to nearly 4,400 students in over 40 schools – with total engagements numbering over 6,100 people. Interested in bringing The Cure for Hate to your community? Contact [email protected]
In other exciting news, the film has been picked up for distribution by American Public Television and will air on select local PBS affiliates nationwide.² More to share on that next month!
(1) Classrooms Without Borders, The Cure for Hate.
(2) American Public Television (APT), The Cure for Hate.
“This powerful documentary points insistently towards our own present, with the rapid rise of the extreme right in the US and Europe raising the specter of history repeating itself. Tony McAleer’s warning is also a call for compassion — and a cry for all of us to recognize the urgency of the terrible danger posed by antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racial hate around the world.”
— Melani McAlister, Professor, American Studies and International Affairs, George Washington University
“This film is so powerful… [Tony McAleer’s] journey to bear witness, interspersed with his personal story, is incredible.”
— June Morris, Board of Directors, National Council for Social Studies
“I can’t stress this enough, this film is something special and is not something you have ever experienced before. This film will move you…one of the best I’ve seen in 2023.”
— Steve Kopian, Unseen Films
“It’s documentaries like this one that must keep the memory of the horrors of genocide over ideology alive today, or dare we repeat the past.”
— Alan Ng, Film Threat
“A riveting and deeply important film.”
— Kathryn Spitz Cohan, Film Pittsburgh
“In today’s environment, with increasing division and othering, programs like [this] are more essential than ever. […] The program’s focus on addressing the roots of hatred and violence speaks directly to the needs of our community and, we believe, many others across the nation.”
— Jess Westhoff, Education Programs Manager, Wassmuth Center for Human Rights
“The Cure for Hate provides avenues to process in a clear, apolitical and meaningful way. Against the backdrop of today’s current events, that is not easy to do. Though it’s been several months, the impact of The Cure for Hate lingers in Brattleboro, VT. I am still hearing from teachers and students how grateful they were for the experience.”
— Susan Healy, Administrative Director, Windham World Affairs Council
“The timely message that The Cure For Hate promotes needs to be heard by everyone. Why? Because those who want to make a positive impact in their community will feel supported and motivated to continue their good work, and those who are going down the path of hatred and bigotry will be challenged to confront their own views.”
— Rabbi Beth Jacowitz Chottiner, Temple Shalom, Louisville, KY
